Icc, Phone Firm Plan To Appeal Rate-hike Ruling

Both the Illinois Commerce Commission and Sprint/Centel-Illinois said Thursday they will take their case for a controversial phone-rate increase to the Illinois Supreme Court.

The telephone rate increase, which affects 120,000 telephone customers in the northwest suburbs, went into effect in May 1994, but was overturned Nov. 9 by the Illinois Appellate Court.

That court ruled the commission "neglected its duty to consider the interests of consumers" when it approved the increase.

The appellate court did not immediately reduce phone charges to former levels. However, if its order is not reversed by higher courts, the case still will have to go back to the commission for a new hearing.

The rate hike affects customers of the telephone company formerly known as Central Telephone Company of Illinois, which, along with parent Centel Corp., merged with Sprint Corp. in 1993.

The company serves all of Park Ridge and Des Plaines and parts of Niles, Rosemont, Mt. Prospect, Glenview and a tiny section of Chicago's Far Northwest Side.

"Illinois case law makes it clear that it is the responsibility of the Illinois Commerce Commission, not the courts, to design fair rates for consumer services," said W. Wayne Walston, Sprint/Centel general counsel. "We think the court, in this instance, intruded on the jurisdiction of the commission."

Martin Cohen, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, which fought the rate hike in the courts, said he was not surprised Sprint/Centel decided to appeal. But Cohen criticized the Commerce Commission for also appealing.

"The Commerce Commission's central job is to protect consumers from abuse by monopoly utility companies," he said. "Now that the court ruled that they didn't do that very well, I wish they would simply enforce the court's order and do the right thing."